The Witch and the Will O'
by NickeltheRed
Summary: Some say this tale begins in America. Others say it really begins along the moors of Ireland. Either way…this is the story of a young witch and her Spunkie.


Listen, child.

The Tale of the Witch and the Will O' is based on real events and based on real people that were flesh and blood, just like you, child. You'd be a fool to believe otherwise. There are things in this world that aren't always so easy to explain, especially to those who refuse to see the truths and use scientific facts as a shield in life. Because of that, stories like this one have been reshaped into a nothing but a silly myth that parents might tell their children on All Hallows Night simply to entertain them.

True, it may not take place back in the olden days in a faraway castle beside a glen, as so many tend to do…but then again, every story must start somewhere. And depending on who you would ask, some might say the story starts in America; others say it really begins near these aging moors of Ireland.

Regardless of its exact location, this tale still starts with a brave and kind girl who has tragically lost her father early in life. She's usually described as a devoted daughter and a thoughtful sister too, traveling across her country for the sake of her mother's musical career. However, compared to the rest of her family, the girl is a believer in magic things...which gets her into some form of trouble more days than not.

One day though, she is finally able to grow out of that shell of hers by battling a terrifying demon and she discovers all the answers she's been chasing for so long.

That is merely one version of the end.

Now, legend has as it that _after_ she's gained a sense of closure regarding her father's death, she manages to finish her primary education while staying in one place and definitely considers putting college on hold for the summer to reunite with her family. At first, spending time with them again was the most important thing to her before she would decide on anything else. And thankfully, her mother and brother seemed to have similar priorities and never really objected to the idea.

Alas, it only takes two weeks of traveling on the road for the girl to realize just how disconnected she really feels to her previous lifestyle. She's catching herself thinking about a permanent home and her recent days at the academy. She didn't laugh as long at her friends' occasional jokes as long as she used to whenever they stopped by. Maybe, through no one's fault, the girl is simply outgrowing their boyish sense of humor. She couldn't spot anything out of the ordinary either, no matter how much she waited for it.

The ping of guilt strikes at her heart soon, because the girl saw the irony in the whole situation. Even if nothing about the group has changed, none of it is remotely the same to her. She's falling out of step with the routine, despite her love for them all. Subsequently, this leads her to confronting her mother privately on one warm July evening about quitting the tour for good. She plans to attend college fulltime as soon as Spring Semester started.

Making the check lists, then weighing the pros and cons of each selection thus far takes longer than she'd originally anticipated, though in time, her search happens to narrow in on a university in the land of her grandmother's birthplace.

With that decided, she is fully ready to move out and move on, leaving the tides of her wild childhood behind her entirely.

And as she finally arrives back in Ireland...all the girl has on her person that fateful morning is two bags of luggage, a secret book filled with old Celtic incantations, and a Spunkie saved to a digital disk in her purse.

By typical American standards, one could say her country house she finds on the edge of the moors for herself is small, and it only has so many rooms from one end to the other. But since she was highly accustomed to sharing her mother's career bus with five to six other people at a time, its confined spaces hardly bothered the girl at all.

Time carries on.

Being surrounded by the familiar emerald green hills and the constant gentle rains in the spring, the girl matures into a young woman, wiser and fairer.

Nevertheless...pulsing deep inside her soul, there is still a yearning for the kiss of magic.

One morning, she rises from her bed and pulls out the hidden book stuffed in her back closet and begins to read it from cover to cover, very carefully and respectfully.

By the next full moon, she tries chanting her first spell in years and amazingly, it works wonders for her. She starts to feel her heritage come alive again and she's becoming in tune with the elements bustling around her. During the following eclipse, she's mixing potions, testing to see what healing recipe works better for the fresh red scrape she received on her knee while climbing over the bluffs. She has memorized each herb and crystal by their Old World properties and titles too. Then at Beltane, she is leaving out little homemade gifts along the perimeter of her garden for any Salamanders or additional Faeries who choose to stop by.

Although, skepticism is eternally lingering in her brother's voice whenever he calls her on the telephone, so, she doesn't quite openly call herself a full-fledged witch just yet. That is, not until the very night her currently widowed grandmother explains that she has been feeling rather ill as of late—and the young woman can actually hear the Banshee return to the area days later, signaling for her grandmother's soul. It is the Banshee who recognizes _something_ is different about her since than the last time they've met. The Banshee says the blood of the witches who lived years before her is now reawaking in her veins. The young woman believes the Banshee. It's still painful for her to accept her grandmother's impending fate, but she's smarter now and knew some things just can't be changed for the benefits of one person. Mind you, there is always the greater balance to keep in order.

It's weeks after the funeral when the woman humbly embraces her newest calling and she continues to heed the spiritual teachings of the Celts and the Sages.

And it is not long after that when she gets reacquainted with her Spunkie who has been lying dormant inside her computer files. _Why_, you ask, child? See, knowing a Spunkie's one true name shall grant you power over them. The young woman knew this Spunkie's real name as the little girl she once was. But due to a magical backfire, it had cost her that special memory. She had forgotten that name...thus, to prove to the Spunkie she wouldn't let him get away so easily again, she trapped him, simply by using mortal technology of all things.

So, this time around, she works her spells more confidently for she _knows_ what to expect. She sets him floating free about the cottage, but not without _giving_ him a name all of her own first—appropriately it's _Willow_—since he fancies to call himself a Will o' the Wisp. And although the Spunkie's not under her complete power from thereon, by branding him a with new name through the Laws of Celtic Magick, she still manages to supernaturally bind him to her and too her household.

The Spunkie _is_ impressed that his Little Duck has ironically bloomed into a Lovely Swan, and that she certainly isn't one to be underestimated. Yet, that hardly changes his ways. Willow constantly complains about being stuck on the end of that leash she's created. He cannot leave the home ground without her accompanying him too, nor can he possess another living body on her territory without her fullest consent. In result, he tends to test her skills, always seeing what he can get away with or not.

For instance the farmer's son, Liam, lives farther up the road from their cottage. He is strapping a lad in a very natural way and is around the woman's own age, perhaps a year or two older, and became friendly with her as a neighbor ever since the day he heard she has no more family living in the area anymore. Sometimes Liam will take a walk to check in on her during supper in the evenings...and that's when Willow tries to strike. He stretches and strains his own magick as far as their bond will allow and he possesses Liam moments before he sets foot on her _forbidden _pathway. He usually succeeds with this trick, but Fortunately enough, the bond also prevents the Spunkie from taking over Liam completely.

The most ironic part of their living arrangement though, is that while the seasons pass them by, both the witch and Willow become quite accustomed to each other's presence like never before. Dwelling in such close quarters day after day will have such an impact on two living beings. It's inevitable, really. In fact, in his rather strange and twisted manner, Willow is still protective over her. He reels her back in if she dives too deep into a certain spell that's currently beyond her ability and he does not favor anyone else getting too close to her past. He worries that if she is exposed in a bad sort of way, so will he. Their world must remain secret—he stresses that regularly. The witch herself, grows to trust his knowledge in magick on an entirely different level than she did as an adolescent. Because really, whether it be a cat, a bird, or a wolf, or even a frog...every witch is bound to find her own Familiar. Yes, they might bicker persistently and they might try to best each other in a game of _Who Really Has The Strongest Power?_ Though at this point, it's mostly just in jest.

Therefore, child, if you happen to be walking alone along the moors and you catch a glimpse of a floating light upon the hills and there is no lighthouse in sight, be aware.

Even till this day, the witch may appear out of the fog at dusk wearing a dark-hooded cloak like her ancestors have. Some say she carries a lantern to guide her back home from the wilderness where she practices her newest magick.

You will know it's her too, for the Spunkie she named Willow shall most likely be hovering devotedly over her shoulder.

And if you are courageous enough to stay and hear her speak, she will tell you, _"They call me Fiona."_

* * *

**A little random, but I enjoyed writing it.**

**If any reader happens to favor this story, then check out my other two_ So Weird_ oneshots I posted in my archive. They too, are Fi and Bricriu centric.**


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